Diversity and inclusion make it possible to deliver a better future for all. Here's how we demonstrate our D&I commitments.
How we define diversity and inclusion at Z
We define diversity as the characteristics that make one individual similar to, or different from, another. This encompasses gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, physical capability, political opinion, family responsibilities, marital status, education, employment status, cultural background and more.
There is no point in having diversity within Z and then excluding its contribution. So we define inclusion as our recognition that diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives lead to a better experience of work for our people.
Inclusion improves engagement, makes teams stronger, leads to greater innovation and performance. It also contributes to more meaningful relationships with customers and stakeholders, and ultimately increases value to our shareholders.
We recognise that inclusion may require individuals to challenge their previously held beliefs and behaviours, and we will support our people with that. The key point of diversity and inclusion is being open to new thinking and perspectives.
Our diversity and inclusion principles
We can be successful, being ourselves, by being committed to these principles:
- A culture that does not discriminate, respects human rights, and is inclusive of all of those in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- A company that reflects the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand at all levels.
- Sustaining a workplace where all of us can achieve. Where we're fully expressed as individuals. And where we address barriers to inclusion for ourselves and our colleagues.
- Celebrating and leveraging each other’s differences, and maximising the advantages that these differences offer us as a company.
- Accessing the wide range of ideas, experiences, approaches and perspectives that our people – from diverse backgrounds and with differing experiences – bring to their roles.
- Developing inclusiveness as a core capability for all, and especially for our leaders.
- An employment brand, recruitment process, and talent pipeline that results in a more diverse range of people joining and being successful in Z than ever before.
- Providing thought leadership and sharing our experience with others – all while inspiring, and being inspired by, our business partners, customers and suppliers to create their own diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Living our diversity and inclusion values
Here's how we put our values into action:
- Ensuring that diversity and inclusion is a fundamental consideration for all policies and practices throughout our company.
- Continually validating that all of our people policies, processes and practices are inclusive and consistently executed by all of our leaders.
- Developing multi-year plans where completed actions demonstrate tangible progress – for which we measure performance and transparently report our results.
- Developing leaders who are confident and capable with inclusion, supported through training in unconscious bias and cultural intelligence.
- Recruiting people based on merit from a diverse pool of talented candidates that represents the diversity of our stakeholders and markets. And where a pipeline does not exist, we take action to support the creation of one.
- Securing relevant accreditations and inviting ‘outside in’ thinking to give us access to best practice. And giving people, inside or outside Z, confidence that we do what we say when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
- The way we show up for customers, stakeholders, shareholders and business partners is inclusive, and demonstrates our understanding of what matters to them.
- Visibly celebrating and sharing learning about what it is to be a contemporary New Zealander.
Being visible
It can be easy to create principles and an approach to bringing them to life, however at Z we are committed to being visible leaders, internally and externally on our D&I journey while recognising that there is always more to do.
Z Energy is proud to have attained the Gender Tick and Rainbow Tick accreditations, along with having our approach to implementation in these areas be reflected in award nominations. Internally within Z, we have a dedicated D&I Council and an Employee Rainbow (including Ally) Network.
Find out more about Rainbow Tick
We're also promoting gender equity with initiatives and policies to address the gender pay gap. It's our aim to close the gap completely by FY24.